VCU’s men’s golf team is ready to compete
VCU senior George Saunder measures his golf putt before attempting to score during a match. Photo by Alessandro Latour
Andrew McGhan, Contributing Writer
VCU’s men’s golf team was voted by the preseason polls to be runner ups in the Atlantic 10 conference championship, according to the A-10 website.
Last season VCU finished runner up to Davidson College, according to the A-10 website. VCU finished with 853 total strokes, and Davidson finished with 851 total strokes.
Head coach Andy Walker was not satisfied with how last season ended, he said. The team was leading for the majority of the tournament but towards the end, Davidson made a run to overtake VCU at the end.
“We played 53 really good holes,” Walker said. “Unfortunately, it’s a 54 hole tournament.”
The 2022 season was not a total loss because former senior golfer Adrian Vagberg won the A-10 conference individual championship, according to Walker. With the win at the A-10 conference individual championship, Vagberg was able to go to regionals and qualified for the national championship tournament.
“I wouldn’t say that all was lost in a year to have an individual get to a national championship,” Walker said. “There’s only a few schools in the country that get that opportunity.”
At the start of the season, the team tied for first place at the VCU Shootout, according to Golfstat. They tied with Charleston Southern University with 828 total strokes.
VCU golf tied for first place for the first term of the season in the fall, according to Walker. The team has learned alot from the fall, and they want to show fans they can win “every event.”
“I think the team has learned a lot from the fall knowing that we can compete with anybody at any time,” Walker said. “Now it’s about really executing and finishing off rounds, finishing alternative tournaments and making big runs on the back nine.”
VCU’s golf team has six new players and one returning player from the previous season, according to Walker.
One of the new players to the team is redshirt junior Mattias Varjun. Varjun said he came to VCU because of the culture of the team and what the team is trying to achieve.
“I could see the stuff [culture] and direction that we’re going into was kind of similar to what I was looking for,” Varjun said. “It was clear pretty quickly that this is the best place for me to get the most out of my golf game.”
The coaching staff creates an atmosphere where they believe in their players and gives them the tools to be successful, according to VCU redshirt sophomore Jayce Hargrave.
Hargrave is also new to the team and he feels that he is playing really good golf, he said.
“I feel like I’m playing some really good golf, and feel like I can put myself in positions to win either a golf tournament or multiple golf tournaments,” Hargrave said. “So that’s something that I’d really like to accomplish before the season’s over.”
All players on the team will be standouts for the team, some notable players to look out for are Hargrave, Varjun, senior George Saunders, freshmen Ugo Malcor and Clemente Silva, according to Walker. They will be standout players for their team for their talents and their improvement from the fall campaign.
“The guys have really worked hard, everyone down the line has worked hard and so they’re all going to contribute in different ways,” Walker said. “I’m excited for the way they’re preparing and changing things and trying to get better, but I’m also excited to see that all that hard work come to light during competition.”
